A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of the equipment and methods used for performing nucleic acid amplification reactions. More specifically, the invention relates to a novel disposable dual chamber reaction vessel for a nucleic acid amplification reaction and a station for conducting the reaction in the reaction vessel.
B. Description of Related Art
Nucleic acid based amplification reactions are now widely used in research and clinical laboratories for the detection of genetic and infectious diseases. The currently known amplification schemes can be broadly grouped into two classes, based on whether, after an initial denaturing step (typically performed at a temperature of .gtoreq.65 degrees C.) for DNA amplifications or for RNA amplifications involving a high amount of initial secondary structure, the reactions are driven via a continuous cycling of the temperature between the denaturation temperature and a primer annealing and amplicon synthesis (or polymerase activity) temperature, or whether the temperature is kept constant throughout the enzymatic amplification process. Typical cycling reactions are the Polymerase and Ligase Chain Reaction (PCR and LCR, respectively). Representative isothermal reaction schemes are NASBA (Nuc leic Acid Sequence Based Amplification), Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA), and Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA). In the isothermal reactions, after the initial denaturation step (if required), the reaction occurs at a constant temperature, typically a lower temperature at which the enzymatic amplification reaction is optimized.
Prior to the discovery of thermostable enzymes, methodologies that used temperature cycling were seriously hampered by the need for dispensing fresh polymerase after each denaturation cycle, since the elevated temperature required for denaturation inactivated the polymerase during each cycle. A considerable simplification of the PCR assay procedure was achieved with the discovery of the thermostable Taq polymerase (from Thermophilus aquaticus). This improvement eliminated the need to open amplification tubes after each amplification cycle to add fresh enzyme. This led to the reduction of both the contamination risk and the enzyme-related costs. The introduction of thermostable enzymes has also allowed the relatively simple automation of the PCR technique. Furthermore, this new enzyme allowed for the implementation of simple disposable devices (such as a single tube) for use with temperature cycling equipment.
TMA requires the combined activities of at least two (2) enzymes for which no optimal thermostable variants have been described. For optimal primer annealing in the TMA reaction, an initial denaturation step (at a temperature of .gtoreq.65 degrees C.) is performed to remove secondary structure of the target. The reaction mix is then cooled down to a temperature of 42 degrees C. to allow primer annealing. This temperature is also the optimal reaction temperature for the combined activities of T7 RNA polymerase and Reverse Transcriptase (RT), which includes an endogenous RNase H activity or is alternatively provided by another reagent. The temperature is kept at 42 degrees C. throughout the following isothermal amplification reaction. The denaturation step, which precedes the amplification cycle, however forces the user to add the enzyme after the cool down period in order to avoid inactivation of the enzymes. Therefore, the denaturation step needs to be performed separately from the amplification step.
In accordance with present practice, after adding the test or control sample or both to the amplification reagent mix (typically containing the nucleotides and the primers), the tube is subject to temperatures .gtoreq.65 degrees C. and then cooled down to the amplification temperature of 42 degrees C. The enzyme is then added manually to start the amplification reaction. This step typically requires the opening of the amplification tube. The opening of the amplification tube to add the enzyme or the subsequent addition of an enzyme to an open tube is not only inconvenient, it also increases the contamination risk.
The present invention avoids the inconvenience and contamination risk described above by providing a novel dual chamber or "binary" reaction vessel, a reaction processing station therefor, and methods of use that achieve the integration of the denaturation step with the amplification step without the need for a manual enzyme transfer and without exposing the amplification chamber to the environment. The contamination risks from sample to sample contamination within the processing station are avoided since the amplification reaction chamber is sealed and not opened to introduce the patient sample to the enzyme. Contamination from environmental sources is avoided since the amplification reaction chamber remains sealed. The risk of contamination in nucleic acid amplification reactions is especially critical since large amounts of the amplification product are produced. The present invention provides a reaction chamber design that substantially eliminates these risks.